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J UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. J 



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THE 



COUNTRY SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 



$ ^hm Tract 



By J. H. VINCENT. 

isVi 



New Vorjc: 

CARLTON & LANAHAN. 

SAN FRANCISCO: B. THOMAS. 
CINCINNATI: HITCHCOCK & WALDEN. 

S V N D A Y-S CHOOL DEPARTMENT. 



'*# 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by 

CARLTON & LANAHAN, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



* 



THE 

COUNTBY SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 




What are Country Sunday-Schools? 

iE have a few things to say about 
country Sunday-schools. The one 
distinctive feature of these schools 
is that they are located in the coun- 
try. Whatever disadvantages their 
managers may experience are trace- 
able to this simple fact. A superintendent from an 
inland city, when addressing an audience in the great 
metropolis, represents himself as " from the country." 
We do not at this writing propose to discuss country- 
city Sunday-schools, which have in reality no embar- 
rassments that are peculi|y* to themselves. Nor are 
we speaking of the schools in our large towns; for 
although these towns are less compactly built, and 
are not so well supplied with pavements as the larger 
cities, their schools find no difficulty in maintaining 
themselves in all seasons and through all weathers. 

In the thinly settled neighborhoods, in farming 
regions, in straggling villages, the real country Sun- 
day-school has its existence ; where, in snowy weather, 
in rainy weather, in extremely cold weather, and in 
thawing weather, it becomes exceedingly difficult, 
nay, almost impossible at times to travel any distance 
on foot. The people who form the Christian congre- 



4 The Country Sunday-School. 

gation in such a section as this live frojn one to five 
miles from the school-house or chapel, and many of 
them must walk every step of the way if they attend 
Church service at all. 

Heat and Cold. 

In such neighborhoods it is not unusual to close 
Sabbath-school during six weeks or more of winter, 
just as in the city certain Sunday-schools are closed 
for six weeks or more during the hot season. What 
the cold does for the country the heat does for the 
city, so that crimination in either case is exceedingly 
unbecoming. 

Secular School Argument. 

The old argument^ based upon the maintenance of 
the secular district school in the rural neighborhoods 
during the entire wdnter is thus answered by the 
country brethren : Our churches, or the school-houses 
in which our religious service is held, are not as near 
to us as the school-houses our children attend during 
the week. Many families must pass two district 
school-houses on Sabbath to reach the place of Church 
service in the country. Boys and girls roughly 
clad may easily enough walk half a mile or more on 
Monday to reach the school-house, who find it less 
agreeable to walk two or three miles in better clothes 
over muddy roads on Sunday. Horses ? The farmer 
believes in at least one day of rest out of the seven 
for his horses, or if the horses are used once on Sab- 
bath to convey the family to church this is enough. 
Again, to attend two services a day so far from home 
when the days are so short, and the " chores " of a 



The Country Sunday-School. 5 

large farm are to be done morning and evening, is 
almost impossible. 



The Irregularity of Church Service. 

In country neighborhoods is another serious ob- 
stacle. Preaching is afforded in many of these places 
only once or twice a month, and this, perhaps, at the 
very hour most appropriate to the Sunday-school 
session. The frequent interruption seems to justify, 
the brief suspension for the winter. 

The Moneyed Men. 

It is often the case that the moneyed men of a com- 
munity, whose children have formed social ties in 
adjoining towns, find it pleasant to ride thither on 
Sabbaths to enjoy the comforts of well-appointed 
sanctuaries and the advantages of a more cultivated 
society than the country neighborhood affords. The 
children, perhaps, identify themselves with a morning 
or noon Sunday-school in town. What time has such 
a family to give to the maintenance of a country 
school ? What interest will they take in it ? 

Denominational. 

A strong denominational feeling too often prevails 
in country neighborhoods. Rivalries find place there 
which are disastrous to spiritual success. Unable to 
maintain a denominational school, and unwilling to 
affiliate with those whose slightly larger influence 
gives the administration into " unfriendly " hands, 
our strong denominationalist withdraws entirely, and 
we have reason to know that in more than one neigh- 



6 The Country Sund ay- School. 

borhood Sunday-schools do not exist at all because 
they cannot be exclusively Baptist, Methodist, Pres- 
byterian, nor yet genuinely "Union.' 5 This state of 
things in many places not only gives the ^winter's 
frost a keener edge, and deepens the mud of the 
country highway, but affords a very convenient ex- 
cuse for closing the school altogether until the genial 
warmth of summer and the personal devotion of some 
disciple of Christ almost compel a new endeavor. 
And in spite of the inharmony some good is done, 
and in many cases, thank God ! the persistent labor 
of a few patient Christians is instrumental in bring- 
ing blessed baptisms of conviction, and light, and 
charity from the Lord. 

Other Difficulties. 

To the difficulties encountered in the management 
of country schools which we have already stated 
may be added the following: the indifference and 
skepticism of so large a part of our country popula- 
tion, with whom it is a small matter whether their 
children go to school or not ; the w r ant of convenient, 
commodious, and well-appointed rooms ; the lack of 
teachers ; the want of a just appreciation on the part 
of the people of the Sunday-school work, and a con- 
sequent failure to give the institution a liberal finan- 
cial support. We can think of other embarrass- 
ments. We have named enough to show that the 
work in the country is to be prosecuted in the face 
of serious difficulties. He is a brave man who keeps 
a steady hold of the institution and pushes it on from 
January to December. 



The Country Sithday-School. 



Three Practical Suggestions. 

1. Whoever you may be already in charge of a 
country Sunday-school, or projecting the organization 
of one, remember that one consecrated heart can stir 
up a whole neighborhood. The one great need of any 
country Sunday-school is an earnest leader. He will 
attract to himself the heart of every child. This 
will win every parent. Earnest, indefatigable love 
can keep up a Sunday-school under the most inau- 
spicious circumstances. The magnet, in spite of wind 
and wave, and blackness and tempest, points steadily 
toward the pole. A force silently woos it from afar, 
and it trembles thitherward in responsive longing. 
So woos true Christly love, and this may throb in 
your heart, brother or sister, and win childhood and 
age from neglectful homes to the school, the sanctu- 
ary, the Saviour. 

2. Remember that to be a successful Sunday-school 
yours need not b&a large school. Ten pupils and two 
teachers may have a session full of enthusiasm and 
profit. Instead of expending your zeal in futile en- 
deavors after large accessions to your numbers, make 
the school itself so profitable and instructive that 
every pupil shall of bis own accord become an earnest 
missionary, and from personal assurance of its value 
persuade his fellows to join your ranks. 

3. Emphasize Bible study. This is the one great 
means by which the Sunday-school is to benefit any 
community. Resolve, therefore, that your school this 
summer, however small it may be, shall be a Bible 
school. We commend to your notice the uniform 
lesson. This ih as practicable in the country as in 



8 The Country Sund ay-School, 

the city. You will find nothing better than the 
Berean Series. You may adopt it for three months.* 
Fill the country with Sunday-schools, Let high- 
ways and hedges, fields and forests, bloom with the 
truth and grace of the Gospel. If you can do no 
more, establish 

Family Sunday-Schools. 

Visit the homes of the people and organize schools 
there. We say to the Western farmer, If you live 
on a prairie, ten miles from every other human being, 
organize a Sunday-school. If there are only two 
persons in your house, open a Sunday-school. Sit 
down and read a portion of God's word together; 
talk about it, memorize it, ponder it. Save one or 
two dollars and send for a library of six or eight good 
books. Give your little gem of a home Sunday- 
school a name, report its existence, seek God's bless- 
ing, and keep at work fifty-two Sabbaths a year. 

Window-Sill Gaedens. 

If but two or three families live within reach, get 
them together for a Sunday-school. We know it will 
require faith and forbearance, patience and love, hut 
these may be had in unlimited measure. On window- 
sills of the fifth story of crowded tenement houses in 
this city we have seen narrow boxes filled with 
earth, green vines springing up from them and shad- 
ing the windows. In Palestine we have seen flowers, 
green grass, and fragrant shrubs blooming in tiny 
clefts and in thin crevices of the rock, and on, narrow 

* See Appendix C. 



The Country Sunday-School. 9 

terraces* Despise not the day of small things. Verd- 
ure and bloom and fruit may come where there "is 
just soil enough for root-hold. Despise not these lit- 
tle clusters of insignificant houses in out-of-the-way 
country places. Where you can get a handful of 
children or "adults organize a Sunday-school. A 
Shakspeare, a Milton, a Whitefield, a Peabody may be 
there. But of this be sure: where five lowly souls 
are, there are five immortals redeemed by the blood 
of Christ; and although their names are never known 
beyond the limited neighborhood in which they were 
born, you may register these names in the Book of 
Life. There they will shina forever. 

Denominational and Union Schools. 

If it can be done without violence to Christian 
courtesy and charity, let your school be denomina- 
tional. This is the better form for a Sunday-school, 
but not always practicable. As the union school will 
sooner or later become denominational, it is a saving 
of time to begin as a regular Church school. But 
where you cannot do as you would, go heartily into 
the union effort. And do not be too solicitous about 
securing advantages for your own branch of God's 
great Church-family, nor too sensitive to slights, neg- 
lects, etc, which some strong partisan or sectarian of 
narrow measure may mete out to you. When certain 
Athenian messengers brought an insulting message 
to Philip of Macedon, their conqueror and king, 
he replied, " Tell the Athenian king that it is worse 
to speak such things than to hear and forgive them." 
Be magnanimous, and if you cannot have what you 
want, do the best you can with what you have. Be 



10 The Countky Sunday-School. 

generous yourself even if others are ungenerously 
sectarian. Yield gracefully to the majority, and 
work as diligently and light as valiantly under the 
accepted banner as you would under your own. This 
is the wiser, better, nobler way. It is often the case 
that the denominational school loses its right of pos- 
session by suspension through the winter. Early in 
the spring some union agent slips in betimes and 
starts a union school. Are we right in thinking that 
any school by closing up for the winter forfeits its 
claim upon public favor, and deserves some such 
rebuke % 

Election of Officees. 

In organizing your school let every thing be done 
openly, and after fair and full notice. Electioneer 
little or none. Pray much for divine direction. In- 
sist upon the selection of superintendent and other 
officers by adults and not by children. Let the key- 
note of your school be " Bible study for spiritual ed- 
ification." Then organize with this aim before you, 
and select officers and teachers who love, and are to 
some extent qualified, to teach the word. Elect as 
few officers as possible. Put all your force into the 
main work as pupils or teachers. Be sure to get a 
superintendent whose heart is in the right place. Get 
a man of as much talent as possible, but exalt grace 
above genius. It is surprising how much one talent 
can do in Sunday-school work. Because you cannot 
have a Wells or a Reynolds, be satisfied if you find a 
man in whom Jesus dwells, and who loves the word 
of God and the souls of the people. Remember that 
all questions of organization are of minor impor- 
tance. Don't be sticklers for particular modes. 



The Country Sunday-School. 11 

Whatever constitution, plan, rules of order, etc., may 
be adopted, carry them out faithfully. We think 
that a very few simple regulations are sufficient for 
the management of a Sunday-school, and when once 
adopted by the majority of teachers let them be tena- 
ciously observed by all. 

Accommodations and Apparatus. 

• 

Four Sunday-school room is not like St. John's, in 
Brooklyn, Grace Mission, in New York, Ben ton-street, 
in St. Louis, or the model school-room of the Method- 
ist Episcopal Church in Akron, O. Tours is either 
a small church with no class rooms, or a country 
school-house of the plainest style. You have no rail- 
road seat to turn over, no cane-bottomed chairs to 
arrange, no double doors to close, no fountain with its 
gold fish and water lilies, no frescoed walls, no stained 
glass windows, no organ, no carpets.. Yours is but a 
plain, soiled, dusty, web-hung country school-house, 
very rough, very inconvenient. We have often been in 
just such rooms, and what glorious times we have had 
there ! All this matter of apparatus and ornament is 
of minor importance. Of some importance it is, and 
so we suggest the appointment of a " Committee on 
'the Boom." How long, think you, will it take a bevy 
of smart country girls to convert a rude school-house 
into a rustic palace, fresher and fairer far than the 
majority of our city basements ? Here are arms and 
fingers that fear neither soap nor scrubbing brush. 
Here are taste and strength to make windows shine, 
exchange for folds of spider webs festoons of ever- 
greens, suspend against bare walls wreaths and anchors 
and crosses of laurel and hemlock, and place on the 



12 The Country Sunday- School. 

superintendent's desk every Saturday evening bou- 
quets of flowers to fill the place with fragrance for the 
day of the Lord. Cleanliness and comeliness, even to 
the point of elegance, are possible in our roughest and 
most rural school-houses. We do not say that these 
things are necessary. Far from it. We do say, for 
we do believe, that these things have a mission not 
to be despised ; and we congratulate the school whose 
superintendent and teachers have enterprise, taste, 
and skill enough to give the ministry of the beauti- 
ful a place in their Sunday-school work. As com- 
pared with Bible study, these adornments are but 
as the velvet case to the costly diamond cluster it 
contains. 

True, in your school-house the infant-class has no 
room by itself. But it can have a corner. If its 
teacher has the tithe of a mother's tact, she will drill 
her ten or twenty little lispers by softly uttered re- 
sponses and " whisper songs" so as to disturb no one 
else. Why may not a temporary blackboard shield 
her from the rest of the school, and afford at the 
same time a surface on which to draw rude letters, 
sketches, maps, etc., to the perfect delight of her 
pupils ? 

We know also that in your little school-house the 
classes are of necessity placed very close together. 
But patient effort on the part of your superintendent 
will soon accustom each to speak in recitation so 
quietly that a partition will really separate the classes, 
and give each an opportunity to prosecute its studies 
without interruption. 

If you wish to know about cheap maps for your 
school, blackboards, the new Silicate Librarians' 
" Record," library books, a lesson system for three, 



The Country Sunday- School. 13 

six, nine, or twelve months, or any thing else relating 
to the work, address a note of inquiry to the Editor 
of the " Sunday-School Journal," 805 Broadway, New 
York. A little labor and a little money wisely ex- 
pended will give the most unfavorably situated coun- 
try Sunday-school a new life and new facilities for 
usefulness. 

The Hour of Meeting 

must be determined by each locality for itself. "When 
there is one preaching service, the school will usually 
be held either immediately before or after it, that the 
families may be saved the trouble and fatigue of a 
second journey. In New England it is very common 
to place the Sunday-school between two sermons. 
The noon hour, between morning and afternoon 
preaching, is devoted to this purpose, and the school 
fits in like a thin slice of tongue between two halves 
of a buttered biscuit. The mass of the people, how- 
ever, regard it rather as a piece of thin paper between 
two slices of jelly cake — the latter to be eaten and 
relished, the other to be thrown away. We hope 
that very soon the three services will be rearranged, 
so that an hour and a quarter may be devoted by old 
and young to Bible study, with accompanying re- 
ligious worship, and that then, after a brief inter- 
mission, the same persons may be assembled to join 
again in worship, and hear God's word preached from 
the pulpit. The present form of public worship is 
not in its details so divinely ordained that it will be 
improper or injurious to change it, and we may soon 
look for such modifications as will give to the school 
the place it deserves in the Sabbath services. 

But while the time is limited to forty-five minutes 



14 The Country Sunday- School. 

or extended to seventy-five, let our country friends 
resolve to make the most of what they have. Don't 
fritter away one half or three fourths of it in opening 
exercises, exchanging books, collecting money, or in 
hearing some itinerant religious life insurance agent 
" speak his piece." Go directly to work, and secure 
at least thirty or thirty- five minutes of solid study out 
of the time assigned. 

The Order of Exercises 

should be left in the hands of the superintendent, 
w T ho, if he be fit for his position, will cheerfully re- 
ceive suggestions from the teachers, and, as far as 
possible, comply with their wishes in all matters of 
management. We may suggest, in reference to the 
" order of exercises," that the " exercises " are far 
more important than the " order." A self-possessed, 
prompt, firm, kind^calm superintendent will secure 
" quiet" whenever he wishes it, and all will cheerfully 
yield to his direction. Give more time to Bible study 
than to any thing else, and allow no interruption 
while that is the order of the day. A high wall, im- 
penetrable and insurmountable, should guard the 
school during that part of its session against librarian, 
missionary collectors, secretary, visitors, and other 
interlopers. 

The Main Work 

in the country, as in the city school, is Bible study. 
Therefore the main point is live teachers. The ablest 
scholars are not always the ablest teachers. Profound 
learning is desirable, but not indispensable, in this 
work of teaching God's truth. Therefore we say to 
country superintendents, Take the best and most de* 



The Country Sunday- School. 15 

voted people you have, learned or unlearned, and en- 
list their hearts in the service. Then give them tracts 
and books to read. Eighty-four cents will purchase 
a dozen copies of " Helpful Hints for Sunday-School 
Teachers. 55 * This little volume will materially aid 
young and inexperienced teachers. Freeman on " The 
Use of Illustration, 55 Fitch on " The Art of Question- 
ing, 55 and on " The ArF of Securing Attention, 55 are 
small tracts of great value to the Sunday-school teach- 
er. With earnest, studious teachers you will soon 
have a successful Sunday-school. Give, therefore, the 
largest measure of attention to this part of the work. 

During the "Week 

do something for the Sunday-school. Have an occa- 
sional sociable, inviting old and young to attend it. 
Spend half an hour or more in some Bible exercise. 
Look over the lesson for next Sabbath, or take up 
the geography of Palestine, drill the meeting on the 
mountains, waters, plains, cities, etc., of the Bible 
world. Sing a good deal. Have one or two brief 
prayers. If the Pastor is unable to be at your school 
on Sabbath, owing to the demands of his work, let 
him make use of this week evening meeting. 

Enthusiasm. 

"We reiterate our solemn conviction that the ques- 
tion of success in country Sunday-school work is not 
one of organization and appliances, but of enthusi- 
asm ; not of art, but of heart. There are in this labor 
no barriers that a true zeal cannot overleap. Make 

* Address Carlton & Lanahan, 805 Broadway, N. Y. 



16 The Country Sunday- School. ' 

every summer, dear brethren of the country, a golden 
summer to you by faithful Sunday-school work, and 
may you gather many and large and heavily-freighted 
sheaves for Christ ! 



"Winter Sunday- Schools. 

Let us discuss the question of suspension during the 
winter. We appreciate the difficulties which our 
fellow-laborers in the country encounter. We have 
conversed freely on the subject with many of these 
brethren. We have lived for several years in the 
country. We have thought carefully over the usual 
objections to winter sessions — bad weather, bad roads, 
chores to be done about house and barn, plain clothes, 
(a second or Sunday-suit made of light and cheap 
material being possible in summer to the poorest boy, 
while a winter Sunday-suit costs three times as much,) 
short days, other meetings, distance, etc., etc. These 
and all conceivable arguments on that side of the 
question, while they show the embarrassments of 
country workers, do not amount to a justification of 
the prevailing habit of closing the Sunday-school for 
from three to five months every year. In spite of 
them all, we believe in fifty-two Sunday-school ses- 
sions every twelve months, and intend in all humility 
and in the fear of God to protest against the unwise 
policy of withdrawing so large a portion of the Sun- 
day-school army every year from the field, and giving 
to the great enemy of souls an advantage so grateful 
to him, and so gratuitous, unnecessary, and culpable 
on our part. 

If Sunday-schools are not practically valuable, let 
them go. Whether stalled by the mud, frozen by the 



The Country Sunday- School. 17 

cold, melted by the heat, or drowned by the rain, 
matters little. But if thus worthless, why hold them 
for five or six months in spring and summer ? 

If Sunday-schools are needed for one Sunday and 
the week it represents, we know no peculiarities of 
any Sunday which would justify its omission. The 
soul that lives by " every word that proceedeth out 
of the mouth of God " needs regular supplies of truth. 
God's word is as necessary to the development of. 
God's grace in the heart in January as in July. The 
Berean believers of Paul's day " searched the Script- 
ures daily." Souls are choosing for God or against 
God all the year round. " Be ye also ready," we find 
remaining as the word of God from January to De- 
cember again. Men sicken and die in all seasons. 
In fact there is no special season to the Christian 
worker. Says Paul to Timothy, " Be instant in 
season and out of season." And is the Bible so 
small a book, so easily fathomed, or so simple, that 
half a dozen summer sessions will suffice to explore 
and master its contents ? It is true, as you say, to 
some extent, u We can study the Bible at home." 
But why, then, have Sunday-school at any time ? 
You may also read sermons and pray at home, and 
thus avoid the fatigue of attending the prayer-meet 
ing, and save yourselves the expense of a preacher. 

Social Perils. 

The unwisdom of the policy we deprecate is the 
more apparent when we consider the peculiar social 
perils of the winter. Satan never suspends his 
operations because of the cold or storm. Winter is 
the special season for gay, dissipating parties with 



18 The Country Sunday- School. 

their dances, or coarse and equally demoralizing 
" plays." On the winter days, when but little farm 
work can be done, and on the long winter nights, 
that drive men in-doors by the side of warm fires, 
does not Satan see to it that groggeries are open, and 
that beer, whisky, cards, coarse stories and ribald 
songs, are supplied to beguile and degrade the weak 
and unwary ? "When do the people more need the 
Sunday-school with its scriptural warnings, instruc- 
tions, and quickenings % 

Special Opportunity. 

"Winter is the season of special opportunity. The 
evening-school, the singing-school, the lyceurn debate, 
the spelling match, the lecture course, the Church 
sociable, the protracted meeting, the public school, 
the great parties and balls, the entertainments in 
hall and church, all these seem to flourish best in 
mid-winter. Why, then, should the Sunday-school 
die ? " If its sessions were held in the evening it 
would be different." Then, we answer, hold its 
sessions in the evening. " But the very little chil- 
dren could not attend." We are sure of the con- 
trary; and yet we do not know but it would be 
better to run the risk of their non-attendance for a 
time, if by the proposed arrangement a larger num- 
ber of young people and adults could be brought 
together for the study of the word of God. The 
evening session is not indispensable. But somehow, 
at some time, in some way, the Sunday-school must 
be kept up. 



The Country Sunday- School. 19 

The Public School 

is always open in winter in country places, answer- 
ing to some extent the arguments against winter 
Sunday-schools, by showing how entirely practicable 
it is for children to leave home in spite of mud, snow, 
and cold. But there is another phase of the public 
school which weighs heavily in favor of winter Sun- 
day-schools. The intellectual effort of young people 
put forth in preparing for daily recitations, the 
casual contact with the great facts and problems of 
history and human experience w r hich school habits 
occasion, these quicken intellects otherwise ^dormant, 
and render students especially susceptible to the . 
truth. At no time in the year are young people in 
the country so intellectually impressible, at no season 
are their minds more clear and vigorous, at no season 
are they more exposed to the temptations of skepti- 
cism than in winter. 1 At the very time when all the 
consecrated culture we have in the Church should be 
responding through Sunday-school teaching to the 
intellectual awakening of our youth, the school is 
closed, the teachers are silent, the Bible is unopened. 
The keen, inquiring, penetrating brain of the boy 
turns from the text-book of science and asks about 
the Maker of all these marvels in nature. He finds 
the Church-school closed. And why ? " It's winter." 
But we do injustice to the Church of Christ in this 
putting of the case. The church is not closed. In 
winter it is usually open oftener than in summer. 

The Protracted Meetings 

are held chiefly during the autumn and winter. In 
some communities it is customary to hold a special 



20 The Country Sunday-School. 

meeting every "winter, even though the Sunday-school 
closes, concerning which we remark, 1. That the at- 
tendance upon such special meetings in the dead of 
winter, and in most unpropitious weathers, only 
proves that " where there's a will there's a way." 
The same degree of zeal in Sunday-school work 
would overcome every obstacle. 2. That the results 
of a protracted meeting " revival " would be intensi- 
fied and extended were its special meetings of prayer, 
consecration, and preaching supplemented by thor- 
ough class studies in the word of God, which is able 
to " build up " and " sanctify " believers. The study 
of divine truth and effort for others are the two 
• things which young converts most need, and these 
are the things most effectively accomplished by the 
Sunday-school. The suspension of this service, there- 
fore, itL winter exposes the young Christians to im- 
mense loss. 3. While it is common to -hold these 
protracted meetings every season, there remain very 
many places where the people suspend their school, 
and yet enjoy no advantages from revival meetings. 
Doubly culpable are those ministers and superintend- 
ents who, in such communities, allow the Sunday- 
school to close in the fall. 

Let us plead, dear reader, for the continuance of 
the country schools for this fall and winter. Try the 
experiment. Foil the arch-foe of our faith. Keep 
the school up and the Word open. Let not the devil 
gain any advantage by the relaxing of Christian 
endeavor. 

Old Clothes. 

Of all the excuses for giving up Sunday school in 
winter which an artful devil ever put into Christian 



The Country Sunday-School. 21 

lips the cry of "~old clothes " is the silliest and shab- 
biest. No more tattered garment ever hung over an 
excuseless sin. Show us the neighborhood where 
people say, "We cannot afford decent clothes, there- 
fore we cannot go to Sunday-school." Let us place 
one earnest soul in that township. He visits, dis- 
tributes tracts, prays, pleads with the people ; through 
his labors the Divine Spirit awakens religious con- 
cern among the people. He preaches the law and 
then the Gospel. The people turn out. Souls are 
forward for prayers. Believers are in an agony of 
earnest longing. It is midwinter. The snow is a 
foot deep on the level, the drifted roads are well-nigh 
impassable, yet the little school-house is crowded. 
Sleighs and sleds, foot-passengers with shovels swung 
over their shoulders, mothers with children in their 
arms, all wend their way, in defiance of snow and 
wind and frost, to the place where God has mani- 
fested himself to his people. On Sunday, from early 
morning till ten o'clock at night, the school-house is 
full. Service after service is held. Miles dwindle 
into rods. " Chores " were never so rapidly dis- 
patched. Clothes ! Who thinks of seedy coat, 
patched trousers, dented hat ? On Saturday night 
the swift needle, the stout clothes-brush, the hot flat- 
iron, soon repair, dust out, and press down a ragged 
week-day garment until it looks " almost as good as 
new," and its glad wearer, gladdened with the zeal 
and joy of the "new life," never gives a thought all 
that jubilant Sabbath-day to the plain, patched garb 
his body wears. 



22 The Coujsttey Sunday- School. 

The Truth Plainly Told. 

Ah, dear brethren, " where there's a will there's a 
way." When the heart is in a work it tears away in 
the twinkle of an eye all these cobweb apologies and ex- 
cuses for apathy and lukewarmness. We close Sunday- 
school in winter because we do not love souls ; because 
we do not love Christ ; because we are half-hearted, 
and care more for our ease than for our Master's 
kingdom. This is the fact. Why not put it in plain 
words? And the saddest fact of all is, that when 
people of the world excuse themselves from Sunday- 
school and Church on the flimsy ground of inability 
to " dress well enough," we at once indorse the* senti- 
ment, cover ourselves with it as with a mantle of self- 
justification, and, closing up the school on Sabbath, 
write on our conscience these weak and wicked words : 
" The poor are so poor they cannot come, and we 
acknowledge the justice and propriety of their 
excuses." 

So Few. 

There are other excuses on the tongue's end of all 
who loathe labor in the Lord's vineyard. They say, 
" But few would come out." Of this we are not sure ; 
but then a few are worth working for. There were 
but a few young men in Oxford who studied their 
Greek Testaments weekly with the vow of service 
upon them— but the few became millions. Jesus in 
the night labored with one Nicodemus. In the heat 
and hunger of the day he talked with one woman of 
Samaria. He found in the lowly service "meat" 
that his disciples knew not of. It is equally in- 
comprehensible to many of his so-called disciples to- 



The Country Sunday- School. 23 

day. "¥e have no teachers." One earnest soul 
loving the Word and loving souls may so teach that 
Word to many as to make it profitable. No teachers ? 
Have you no Christians among you ? Is there not 
one? "We lack the funds." Do you lack equally 
the spirit of self-denial ? 

The Money Question. 

We know how difficult it is to raise money in many 
country places for Sunday-school work. But the 
"will" hews out the "way." Take the "cheap" 
cigars one of your number smokes. They cost only 
three cents apiece. He smokes only one a day, in- 
cluding Sunday. Nearly eleven dollars a year ! That 
is all. But five men, each smoking or chewing eleven 
dollars a year, consume on their appetites, and to the 
damage of body, brain, and heart, only fifty-five dol- 
lars a year ! And all this is in neighborhoods where 
people are too poor to dress decently, and far too poor 
to provide reading-matter for a Sunday-school. What 
will the Master say when the "judgment is set and 
the books are opened % " 

The Summer Vacation. 

It is common to answer remonstrance by remon- 
strance. The city cries aloud to the country and re- 
ceives an echoing rebuke : " If country Sunday-schools 
do close in winter, the city schools also close in 
summer." 

These lines are not written from the city stand- 
point, nor are they intended to be the voice of the 
city in any sense. Personally we have lived in the 



24 The Country Sunday- School. 

country and preached in the country enough to un- 
derstand its needs, its embarrassments and advantages. 
We write earnestly because we feel keenly the im- 
portance of the question. We write plainly because 
w T e wish its importance to be fully felt by those who 
must personally grapple with it. But w r e have a 
word or two in this place to say concerning the cus- 
tom of closing Sunday-schools in the city during the 
summer — a word of condemnation and a word of ex- 
tenuation. We think that clergymen and most 
students and business men of intellectual and seden- 
tary habits need a few 7 weeks' relaxation in the sum- 
mer. In securing this, most of the wealthy Church- 
members are " out of town " for some time. The 
superintendent goes ; the chief teachers go ; many of 
the. scholars go. So the authorities close the school. 
Just so far as this arrangement prevents people from 
attending the public service and the Sabbath-school 
it is harmful. Those who travel are of course per- 
mitted to attend service every Sabbath. Now, such 
is the proximity of churches in all cities, and such 
the summer arrangements, that, although one or two 
churches may be temporarily closed in the neighbor- 
hood, there is always one, and generally more, within 
easy reach where preaching may be heard, and where 
the Sabbath-school is held twice a day. The schools 
that close are aware of this, and it is customary for 
departing Pastors and superintendents to exhort those 
of their flocks who must remain in town to attend one 
of the neighboring churches and schools. So that, in 
fact, the city Sunday-schools do not at any time close 
in such a way as to leave ci,ty people without oppor- 
tunity for regular Sunday-school service every Lord's 
day. 



The Country Sunday- School. 25 

These words have been written in love, and with a 
profound anxiety on our part to so write them that, 
while they could give no offense by undue plainness, 
they might be so plain and direct that they could not 
be misunderstood. 



Class-Meetings and Sunday-Schools ! 

Methodists hold class-meetings. They are intended 
to be, and almost invariably are, " means of grace." 
A brother minister writes as follows : 

" I have been preaching and working in the Sab- 
bath-school a great many years on circuits in country 
places. I have tried hard to keep up the schools 
in winter. I am very glad you are treating the 
subject in the ' Sunday-School Journal,' and so well 
thus far, but I have an objection for you to answer. 
In many places the Sabbath-school must be held im- 
mediately after the morning sermon, but that entirely 
prevents all class-meetings, as they can only be held 
at that hour. To me this is the greatest objection to 
winter Sabbath-schools in the country." 

But why an objection to "winter Sabbath-schools?" 
Does not the difficulty exist just as much in sum- 
mer ? Now there are two or three methods which we 
should adopt or test before abandoning either the 
class-meeting or the Sunday-school. 

1. We should plead for a morning session of the 
Sunday-school. But the country will say, " It is too 
early for the people, and especially for the children, 
to get out." 

2. We should then plead for a later preaching hour, 
say, Sunday-school at 10 A. M. ; preaching at 11.15; 
class-meeting at 12.30. 



26 The Country Sunday- School. 

3. If both classes and Sunday-school must meet at 
the same time, we should recognize the class-meeting 
as a good Sunday-school class, and its leader as a 
Sunday-school teacher. We should recognize the 
Sunday-school classes as class-meetings, and their 
teachers as leaders. We should uphold both institu- 
tions. If we needed a teacher for one class, we should 
feel free to take him out of another where he had 
been a scholar. If we needed a devout class-member 
for a Sunday-school teacher, we should lay hold of 
him feeling that we were virtually making a class- 
leader of him, and thus promoting him. 

4. If we were compelled to meet at the same hour, 
and had but one room in the church for all purposes, 
we should borrow a neighbor's kitchen or parlor for 
the class-meeting. 

We do firmly believe that when Christians rightly 
estimate the Sunday-school, and Sunday-school work- 
ers truly appreciate the class-meeting, there will pre- 
vail a spirit of confidence, concession, and co-operation 
before which every difficulty will vanish. 



APPENDIX. 



The Eev. Atticus G. Hay good, D.D., editor of the '" Sunday- 
School Magazine " of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 
writes the following plain words in a recent number : 

Our Annual Hibernation. 

Our schools are now at their best estate. They are fuller 
than they will be again till next May. A number of schools 
will break down during August and September on account of 
" protracted meetings," as teachers will," in many instances, 
leave their schools for a few Sundays to attend distant meet- 
ings. We are not opposed to protracted meetings ; we believe 
in revivals, and recognize their importance to the Church ; but 
we enter our solemn protest against neglecting the Sunday- 
school for even so great a gratification as attendance upon a 
gracious revival. Faithful, consecrated labor at the post of 
duty in the school would bring revival blessings ; aye, secure 
perennial revival. Stand by your school. It is better not to 
be at a protracted meeting during the year than to jeopard the 
life of your Sunday-school. And for your own heart, too, dear 
teacher, the post of duty is the place of blessing. There God 
will meet you. 

But our great trouble is the long-confirmed habit with a 
large majority of our country schools of suspending with the 
first frosts of October. Nothing else is expected or attempted. 
They fade and die and fall as regularly as the leaves do. Many 
seem to think it equally a matter of course. We know some 
schools that have a formal meeting in October, eat, sing, and 
speak, and then adjourn to a clay set about the first Sunday in 



28 The Country Sunday-School. 

the next April. They call it the " fall picnic ! " To us it looks 
very like a funeral ; but this is better than falling to pieces by 
degrees as the weather gets colder. If we will not be per- 
suaded to go on through the winter, by all means let us adjourn 
in good order, with a pledge all round to meet as soon as the 
buds begin to swell. We have reason to believe that one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand children, reported in our statistics, are 
denied the privilege of Sunday-school instruction during the 
entire winter ! This is a terrible state of things ; the loss and 
damage we suffer is incalculable. We lose time, organization, 
opportunity, books, almost every thing that makes a Sunday- 
school good and useful. The trouble of organization has to be 
gone through with every spring, a month or two passes away 
before the machinery, rusted by winter rains, gets in working 
order. But the devil does not hibernate. Young blood does 
not go to sleep, and while timid fathers are trying to keep 
warm at home the young people are seeking entertainment. 
There is no Sunday-school. One " monthly appointment " is 
called in during the transitions of the Annual Conferences, so 
that at least two months pass away before circuit preaching 
comes again. If it should rain on the Sabbath of the first ap- 
pointment it frequently happens that three months pass away 
before the old log-house is opened, unless some good local 
preacher goes through the form of worship with a score of 
shivering hearers. Thus it comes to pass that the whole ma- 
chinery runs down. The Sunday-school goes first, the prayer- 
meeting follows ; preaching becomes a penance on cold Sun- 
days if it is attempted at all ; the stewards do not meet the 
congregations, so that at the first " Quarterly Conference " they 
report " nothing." In the North and North-west the winter is 
the revival season. It is a time of abundant leisure, and the 
severity of the climate has accustomed the people to providing 
against it. They have found out the use of comfortable 
churches. Unfortunately our southern winters are not cold 
enough to compel us to make adequate provisions for comfort, 
but too cold to be comfortable without fire. 

Is this evil to go on forever ? Is hibernation to become the 
policy of our Church ? Are we never to learn that what a few 
hundred coimtry churches have done all our country churches 



The Country Sunday-School. 29 

can do — provide comfortable houses, and keep up the Sunday- 
school perpetually ? 

"What is the remedy ? First of all, let us improve our houses 
of worship in the country. This is the condition of progress, 
and this we can do. We can make a log-church warm as 
easily as we can make a log-dwelling warm. We rejoice to 
hear of $50,000 churches in our cities. We are not afraid that 
too many will be built ; but just now we would rather hear of 
a well-planned and comfortably-furnished church dedicated in 
the country. Our brethren in the country are able to do this. 
Let the reform begin. Now is the time. The " crops are laid 
by ;" you have a period of leisure. Get ready for the winter 
before winter comes. Do not imitate the example of the man 
who would not patch his broken roof " in fair weather because 
he did not need it, and would not in bad weather because he 
would not work in the rain." If you have a good church that 
only lacks a stove, buy a stove at once ; if the church is only a 
hull, plaster or ceil it now ;- if you have a log-house, and can 
do no better, God will accept the log-house — if you chinlc the 
cracks and make it warm enough for your children to study his 
word in ; but God does not accept a house with huge spaces 
between the logs that lets in the cold and drives out his 
children. 

One thing more we may say at this time. It is not the fault 
of our children that our schools are oroken up during the winter. 
We ask our brother editors to help us " preach a crusade " on 
this subject. Let us "cry aloud and spare not." There is no 
practical subject of greater importance. We ask that Church 
and Quarterly and District and Annual Conferences take the 
subject up. We ask Bishops to look into it. Let Presiding 
Elders and Pastors take hold of it. We call upon superin- 
tendents and teachers, fathers and mothers. We invoke the 
aid of the children. We ask saints and sinners to make ready 
before the winter comes. Let the list of Churches that are 
going to renounce " hibernation " be enlarged till it takes in 
every Church in our connection. We want to publish this 
u roll of honor." Does Sarclis, Shiloh, or Pleasant Valley speak 
first? 



30 The Country Sunday- School. 



B. 

THE BEEEAH" SEEIES OF SUNDAY-SCHOOL LESSONS. 
BEFORE SELECTING SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

LESSORS FOE 1872 

EXAMINE THE BEREAN SERIES. 

Used by more than 40,000 teachers and nearly 500,000 scholars, 

[ u These (at Berea) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in 
that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched 
the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so." — Acts xyii, 11.] 

The Aim. 

It is the aim of the Berean Series : 

1. To promote independent labor on the part of teachers and 
scholars. 

2. To give partial aid to the teacher without doing every 
thing for him. 

3. To enlist home help in Sunday-school study. 

4. To uphold Jesus Christ as the central theme of every 
lesson in both the Old and New Testaments. 

5. To encourage the daily searching of Scripture. 

Featuees. 

1. Forty-eight Lessons and four Quarterly Eeview 
Concert Services. 

2. Home Readings for the family and the closet for every 
day in the year; these readings having reference to the subject 
of the ensuing Sunday's lesson. 

3. Lesson Hymns, Golden Text, Chants, etc. 

4. The Golden Topic, at the head of each lesson, gives in 
a single sentence the leading or central truth of the lesson, 
while 

5. The Golden Text expresses this central idea in a choice 



The Countby Sunday- School. 31 

passage of Scripture, which is to be committed to memory by 
all the members of the school. 

6. The Scripture Selection itself is accompanied by "ref- 
erences," the consultation of which will give an answer to 
many of the questions asked in the lesson. 

7. The "Lesson," "Golden Text," and "Lesson Hymns" 
form an appropriate Lesson Service for the opening exercise 
of each session. 

8. Illustrations (pictorial and anecdotal) will be used 
freely in the Sunday-School Journal and Lesson Leaves. 
The publishers will spare no pains or expense in this par- 
ticular. 

9. The Graded feature of the Berean Series, adapted, as its 
lessons will be, to at least three grades of pupils, gives it a 
special attraction. 

The Helps. 

1. The Sunday-School Journal will contain the Scrip- 
ture, Golden Topic, Golden Text, Lesson Hymns, Questions, 
Outlines, Notes, Illustrations, etc., for teachers and superin- 
tendents. 

2. The Lesson Leaf [four pages a month] for scholars. 
These will contain Questions, Scripture, Golden Topic, Golden 
Text, Hymns, etc. 

[Special Notice. — Sometimes schools prefer the lessons in 
book form. We have therefore prepared the Berean Ques- 
tion Book, a little volume containing every thing needed by 
the scholars — Scripture, Topics, Texts, Questions, Maps, etc., 
etc. A rare and beautiful book. Those who use it will not 
need the Lesson Leaf. Whether using Leaf or Book in the 
class, the teacher will require the Sunday-School Journal.] 

Helps foe, the Infant Class. 

1. The Leaf Cluster. Leaves, each 36x24 inches in size. 
Bold, beautiful type. Useful for General Be view in all schools. 

2. The Picture Lesson Paper. Eight pages, monthly. 
May be divided into four papers, so that a new paper of two 
pages may be distributed every Sabbath. The Picture Lesson 
Paper may be used with or without the Berean Series. Price, 
25 cents a year. 



32 The Country Sunday- School. 



For the Family. 

The Home Readings and Golden Texts will be published in 
a new and beautiful form convenient for use at home. 

Expense. 

1. The Sunday-School Journal. Eev. J. H. Vincent, Ed- 
itor. Twenty-four pages monthly. Single subscribers. 60 cents 
a year. To clubs of six or more, sent to one address, 50 cents 
each. 

, 2. The Lesson Leaves. Four pages monthly. To schools 
using the Journal the Lesson Leaves will be furnished at the 
rate of five cents a scholar for the year; that is, a school for- 
warding ten dollars will receive for the year ten Sunday-School 
Journals and one hundred Lesson Leaves each month. 
$15 will bring 15 Journals and 150 Lesson Leaves. 
$20 " " 20 " " 200 " u 

$50 " " 50 " " 500 " " 

3. The Berean Question Book (to be used instead of the 
Lesson Leaves) will cost 15 cents each, or $15 per hundred. 

Subjects for 1872. 

The subjects of the Lessons for 1872 will soon be published. 
Send for a Descriptive Catalogue to Carlton & Lanahan, 

805 Broadway, New York. 

Notices. 

The Berean Series is teaching my school the Bible as none 
ever did. What we greatly prize is the tender, melting, spirit- 
ual truth evolved from every lesson. — Rev. E. Persons, Per- 
kins, O. 

Your lesson series — the Berean — we have used all the year. 
I have been familiar with many series, but yours suits me best. 
It is just the thing. — C. W. Jerome, Principal of Bedford Sem- 
inary, Shelbyville, Tenn. 



The Country Sunday- School. 33 

Having used the Berean Series for three years in my Sunday- 
school, I desire to express my satisfaction with it. I regard it 
as being as complete and practical as any I have ever exam- 
ined. — William Reynolds, Supt. Presbyterian Mission Sunday- 
School, Peoria, III. 

I enjoy your Berean Series. ... I enjoy the expositions of the 
" Journal " exceedingly. — E. D. Jones, Supt. Baptist Sunday- 
School, St. Louis, Mo. 

In my opinion, as a suggestive aid to teachers, the " Sunday- 
School Journal " stands at the head of all publications of its 
class, and there is no Methodist teacher especially who will not 
be increasingly qualified for, and stimulated in, their work by 
its use. The information and illustrations in it are good as a 
supplement to any teacher's library, and of great value to those 
whose book-shelf is small or ill-assorted. — Silas Farmer, Be- 
troit, Mich. 

We have enjoyed your series very much indeed. There is 
nothing better. — Prof. J. Dorman Steele, Elmira, N. F. 

Your series this year (1871) is complete. Use of them is 
what proves them. They stand the test. — Kev. C. Z. Case, 
Canandaigua, N. Y. 

I wish to recommend the above series of Sabbath-School Les- 
sons now being published for 1871 by Carlton & Lanahan. 
Kev. J. H. Vincent, D.D., the author, has already published 
"Two Years with Jesus," "A Year with Moses," and the "Be- 
rean Lessons for 1870," all of which I have given a careful trial 
in school, and pronounce them excellent. The Lessons an- 
nounced for 1871 are "Twelve Lessons on the Words of Jesus," 
" Twelve Lessons about Joseph," " Twelve Lessons about Paul," 
and "Twelve Lessons about Solomon." We pronounce these 
the best lesson papers we have ever seen. This system— (first 
introduced by Brother Vincent in the " Sunday-School Teach- 
er," published in Chicago,) with its Golden Topic, giving in a 
short sentence the leading thought of the lesson ; the Golden 
Text, expressing the same central idea in a short verse of Scrip- 
ture, to be committed • to memory; its Lesson Hymn, illustrat- 
ing and enforcing the subject by beautiful songs; its H< 
Readings for every day in the week — is the most complete, 

3 



34 The Country Sunday- School. 

varied, instructive, and interesting series of lessons now before 
the American public. 

We heartily recommend them to all of our schools : 

1. That we may have uniformity of lessons, not only in each 
school, but in all the schools of our Church. 

2. They are not only the best, but are the cheapest. 

3. There are published with them most admirable teachers' 
helps. 

4. They are practical and spiritual; they impart a thorough 
knowledge of the blessed Bible, and from every lesson, in what- 
ever part of the Bible it may be, they make a road to Christ. — 
Kev. George P. Wilson. 



THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL JOUKUAL. 

BEY. J. H. VINCENT, D. D., EDITOR. 

Twenty-four pages beautifully printed and illustrated. Month- 
ly. This year begins with January. Notes on the Berean Les- 
sons every month. Price to single subscribers, 60 cents a year. 
Clubs of six and over to one address, 50 cents each. Back 
numbers supplied. Address Carlton & Lanahan, 805 Broad- 
way, New York ; Hitchcock & Walden, Cincinnati, O., or Chi- 
cago, 111. ; E. Thomas, San Francisco, Gal. 



THE PIOTUEE LESSON PAPER 

REV. J. H. VINCENT, D.D., EDITOR. 

Eight pages, elegantly illustrated. Monthly. So printed 
that it can be divided into four beautiful papers a month. 
Price, 25 cents a year. Address as above. 



c. 
PARTIAL CATALOGUE 

OF 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL REQUISITES. 



SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION, METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHUKCH, 
805 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 



[Order by numbers, R. 100,* etc.] 



R. 100. The Call-Card. 

A little card in two colors. A card-mis&onary, full of short argu- 
ments in favor of the Sunday-school. It has blank spaces for the 
names of the Church, Pastor, Sunday-school Superintendent, and for 
the hours of service on the Sabbath. These blanks may be filled out 
and the cards left, some in the depot, some at the hotels on Saturday 
evening, to let strangers know where to go on Sabbath. They may be 
sent to families Just moving into the neighborhood. Let Pastors and 
Superintendents order them. Price, $1 00 per hundred. 

R. 101. The Senior Class Card. 

A card to be distributed by teachers and scholars of any adult class, 
inviting young people to unite with them in the study of Scripture : 
Blanks for name of school, teacher, and of the presenter of the card. 
Price, $1 00 per hundred. 

R. 102. The Home Card. 

On one side blanks for ascertaining parents' names and residences, 
and the scholar's full name and age. On the opposite side an appeal 
to parents 4n behalf of the Sunday-school. Price, $1 00 per hundred. 

R. 103. The Absent Teacher's Card. 

To be sent out on Monday morning by the Superintendent to 
teachers who were absent the day before. Neat, plain, direct, practi- 
cal, and likely to do good. Price^ $1 .00 per hundred. 

R. 104. 

* Requisite No. 100, etc. 



36 The Country Sunday-School. 

R.105. 
R. 106. 

R. 107. 

R. 108. 

R. 109. My Field. 4= pages. 

A beautiful illustrated tract to be given to Sunday-school teachers* 
A rare gem. Price, 3 cents. 

R. 110. The Child-Heart. 8 pages. 

Another tract for Sunday-school teachers. "Written by a Presby- 
terian minister. Price, 3 cents. 

R. Ill, Take the Right Key. 4 pages. 

A dream of heaven, and how to enter. Should be in the hands of 
every teacher. Price, 3 cents. 

R. 112. Of no Worth. 4 pages. 

For Sunday-school teachers. Suitable for distribution at any time. 
Price, 3 cents. 

R. 113. The Sunday-School Teachers' Meeting. 

By W. H. Sutton, of Philadelphia. All one wants to know about 
teachers' meetings is in this tract. Price, 10 cents. 

R. 114. Sunday-School Teaching. 

By S. Y. R. Ford. An interesting tract on teaching in the several 
departments of the Sunday-school. Price, 10 cents. 

R. 115. Stones of Palestine. 

A lecture on the ruins of the Holy Land, by Rev. J. Compee G-eay, 
of England. This highly interesting lecture was delivered before the 
Newark (N. J.) Sunday-School Association, and is now published for 
the first time. Price, 10 cents. 



The Country Sunday-School. 37 

R. 116. 

R. 117. 

R, 118. Form for Public Reception of Sunday-School 
Teachers. ± pages. 

This beautiful little tract is designed to be used in school or church 
on the occasion of the appointment and recognition of Sunday-school 
teachers who have been elected to this holy office. It contains hymns, 
questions, a covenant, etc. Price, 3 cents. 

R. 119- 



R. 120. The Sunday-School Journal. 

Ret. J. H. Vincent, D.D., Editor. 
Twenty-four pages, beautifully printed and illustrated. Monthly. 
The year begins with January. Notes on the Berean Lessons every 
month. Price to single subscriber, 60 cents a year. Clubs of six and 
over to one address, 50 cents each. Back numbers supplied. Address 
Carlton & Lanahan, 805 Broadway, New York; Hitchcock & "Walden, 
Cincinnati, 0., or Chicago, 111. ; E. Thomas, San Francisco, Cal. 

R. 121, The Picture Lesson Paper. 

Rev. J. H. Vincent, Editor. 
Eight pages, elegantly illustrated. Monthly. So printed that it 
may be divided into four beautiful papers a month. Price, 25 cents a 
year. Address as above, (in 120.) 

R. 122. The Picture Annual. First Year. 

The Picture Lesson Paper for 18 TO, bound. A most beautiful little 
gift for little people. 96 pages. Rich illustrations. Price, 50 cents. 

R. 123. 
R. 124. 



38 The Country Sunday- School. 

R. 125. 

R. 126. 

R. 127. Topics for Teachers. 

By Rev. J. Comper Gray. 2 vols. 
This is an invaluable guide to the Sunday-school teacher. It is a 
library in itself. Condensed outlines, good maps, pictorial illustrations, 
Scripture references, etc. The teacher will here find matter historical, 
biographical, geographical, doctrinal, practical, etc., etc. It is adapted 
to senior classes for a text-book, to ordinary teachers as a reference 
book. Price, $3 00. 

R. 128. Hand-Book of Bible Geography. 

By Prof. G-. H. Whitney. 
This work is a valuable addition to the libraries of Sunday-school 
Superintendents, teachers, and Bible students. It contains the name, 
pronunciation, and meaning (as far as ascertainable) of every place, na- 
tion, and tribe mentioned in both the canonical and apocryphal Scrip- 
tures, with historical and descriptive notes. The volume is handsomely 
illustrated with nearly one hundred engravings and forty maps and 
plans. The thirty-nine full-page cuts are elegantly printed on tinted 
paper. No other book, it is believed, contains within the same space 
so much information, with illustrations so complete. Price, $2 25. 

R. 129. Pictorial Bible Geography. 

By Rev. J. H. Vincent. A child's book of sacred geography. Ra- 
diant with pictures, the type bold, the paper heavy and tinted, a 
perfect gem of a book. It will be very popular with little people. 
Price, $1 00. 

R. 130. The Infant Sunday-School. 

By Mrs. Dr. Knox and Rev. 0. E. Knox, with an appendix by Rev. 
J. H. Vincent. Every thing the infant class teacher needs will be 
found in this book. The most complete book on infant class teach, 
ing in the country. Price, 75 cents. 

4 



The Country Sunday-School. 39 

4 R. 131. The Sunday-School and Bible Teaching. 

By Rev. James Inglis, of Scotland. A compact common-sense, 
practical discussion of the Sunday-school work. The author is him- 
self a faithful and experienced Sunday-school worker, and the Pastor 
of a Church in Scotland. Price, $1 00. 

R. 132. The Art of Questioning. 

By Joshua G-. Fitch, M. A. A manual for every Sunday-school 
teacher, giviug the most direct counsels on this important feature of 
teaching. Price, 10 cents. 

R. 133. The Art of Securing Attention. 

By Joshua G. Fitch, M. A. The principles and devices suggested 
in this little tract are worth, ten times its cost. Price, 10 cents. 

R. 134. The Use of Illustration. 

By Rev. James M. Freeman, A. M., of New Jersey. Mr. Freeman 
is a born teacher. He knows how to teach, and is able in a straight- 
forward way to tell others how it may be done. Price, 15 cents, 

R. 135. What is a Child? 

By "William H. Groser, B. Sc, F. G. S. The properties and laws 
'/>f child-nature are here stated and illustrated. ~ An excellent little 
hand-book. Price, 15 cents. 

R. 136. Helpful Hints 

For the Sunday-School Teacher. By Rev. J. H. Vincent, D. D. 
Multum in parvo. Twelve chapters of most condensed material for the 
guidance of Sunday-school teachers at home and in school. Price, 12 
cents per dozen. 

R. 137. 
R. 138. 
R. 139. 



40 The Country Sunday-School. 

R. 140. Little Footprints in Bible Lands. 

By Rev. J. H. Vincent, D.D. A book of recitations in sacred history 
and geography, with maps, chants,* songs, plans for the organization 
and management of "Palestine Classes," etc. Price, 60 cents. 

R. 141. The Dissected Map of the Holy Land. 

In a box. The Holy Land is here all broken to pieces, and sadly in 
need of reconstruction. Only those who know something about the 
geography of that region can put it together. The arrangement 
of these pieces into one map is a pleasant and profitable puzzle. 
Price, $1 50. 

R. 142. The Dissected Map of Egypt and the Wilderness. 

In a small box. Price, 50 cents. 

R. 143. The Dissected Map of the Scripture World. 

In a small box. Price, 50 cents. 

R. 144. Two Outline Maps with a Key. 

1. Of the Bible Lands. (Colored.) 

2. Of Palestine. (Colored.) 

These are maps on which the principal towns and mountains of the 
Bible are indicated, but not named. The scholar must identify every 
point for himself. They are also designed to assist in map-drawing. 
Price, for two maps and key, 10 cents. 

R. 145. Map No. One. The Scripture World. 

On muslin, 3 by 4 feet in size. Contains valuable geographical 
tables, and analyses, and concentric lines around Jerusalem, show- 
ing at a glance the distance from that city of every Bible land. 
Price, $5 00. 

R. 146. Map, No. Two. The Holy Land. 

On muslin, 3 by 4 feet in size, with valuable outlines and measure- 
ments; a profile of the land from Joppa through Jerusalem to the 
Dead Sea; and the land hemisphere of the globe, showing the relative 
position of the Bible lands to the rest of the world. Price, $5 00 



The Couisttey Sunday-School. 41 

R. 147. 
R. 148. 

R. 149. 

R. 150. Barteau's Sunday-School Teachers' Record 
Book. 

So arranged that the scholar's name need be written but once, thus 
saving the necessity of frequently transcribing names from page to 
page. Price, $3 per dozen. 

R. 151. Barteau's Certificates of Admission. 

Price, $2 00. 

R. 152. Barteau's Certificates of Dismission. 

Price, $1 00. The admission book contains 200 and the dismission 
100 certificates, so arranged as to form a* complete record of the names 
of the scholars through a series of years. They are gotten up in the 
form of a bank check book, on fine paper, and printed with colored 
mk. Sunday-school workers will be pleased with them, and find 
them of great value. Price, per set, $3 00. 

R. 153. 
R. 154. 
R. 155, 
R. 156. 
R. 157. The Sunday-School Card Certificate. 

One of the most exquisite Sunday-school certificates we have ever 
seen. It is nine by eleven inches in size, fine Bristol card board, and 
printed in four colors — blue, gold, brown, and black. On the left of 



42 The Country Sunday-School. 

the certificate, under a semi-Gothic canopy, stands a sta.tue of Moses. 
From this canopy an arch springs to the right, where it is supported 
by a graceful column. Under this arch the names of the Church, the 
school, and the scholar are inserted. Price, 15 cents each. 

R, 158. The Sunday-Scholar's Blank-Book. 

A little blank book. On the outside covers are " Rules for a Sun- 
day-Scholar," " List of Articles every Sunday-Scholar Needs,' ' " Rules 
for the Preparation of a Lesson. " This will aid and encourage children 
and young people in the preparation of their lessons at home. Price, 
10 cents each. 

R. 159. The Berean Question Book. First Year. 

A little volume containing every thing needed by the scholars — 
Scripture, Topics, Texts. Questions, Maps, etc., for the Berean Lessons 
on the "Words of Jesus," lessons on "Joseph,',' on "Paul," and on 
"Solomon." A rare and beautiful book. Price, 15 cents. 

R. 160. The Home Manual for the Berean Series. 

A small book to indicate the Home Reading Lessons connected with 
the Berean Series. It also contains several little chapters on home 
religion. Price, 10 cents. 

R. 161. The Prayer-Meeting Leaflet. 

Designed to concentrate the thoughts of worshipers upon a single 
topic, andVthus give increased effectiveness to the service of prayer 
and praise. 25"leaflets in one package — all alike. Price, per package, 
5 cents. 



D. 

FORM OF A CONSTITUTION FOE A SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
SOCIETY. 

Art. 1. This Society shall be called the Sunday-School Soci- 
ety of — , Auxiliary to the Sunday-School Union of the 

Methodist Episcopal Church, and connected with the Quarterly- 
meeting Conference of . It shall consist of the Officers, 

Teachers, the Sunday-School Committee appointed by the 
Quarterly Conference, and the Preacher in charge. 

Art. II. The object of this Society shall be to sustain a Sun- 
day-school at . 

Art. HI. The Officers of this Society shall be a Superintend- 
ent, (Assistant Superintendent, Female Superintendent, where 
necessary,) Secretary, Treasurer, and Librarian, who shall be 
elected annually by ballot on . 

Art. IY. Teachers shall be nominated by the Superintendent, 
with the concurrence of the Pastor, on their entering the school, 
and elected by the Society one month subsequently. 

Art. Y. Regular meetings of this Society shall be held on 

of each month, for the transaction of such business as 

relates to the interests of the Society and School, at which the 
following order shall be observed : 

1. Singing and prayer ; 2. Calling roll ; 3. Reading minutes ; 
4. Unfinished business ; 5. Reports from Committees ; 6. Re- 
ports from Superintendent ; 7. Reports from Treasurer ; 8. Re- 
ports from Librarian concerning the state of the library and the 
number and kind of periodicals taken by the school ; 9. Re- 



M The Country Sunday- School. 

ports from the Sunday-School Committee ; 10. Reports from 
Teachers ; 11. Miscellaneous. 

Art. VI. At all meetings for business — : — shall constitute 
a quorum. 

Art. VII. Special meetings of the Society may be called by 
the Superintendent, or by any three of the members. 

Art. VIII. In case of the withdrawal of persons from the 
school they cease to be members of this Society ; and any 
member of the Society habitually neglecting his or her duty, 
or being guilty of improper conduct, may be expelled by a vote 
of two thirds of the Society at any monthly or special meeting. 

Art. IX. Vacancies in the offices may be filled at any monthly 
or special meeting, one month's notice having been given of 
the election. 

Art. X. This Constitution shall not be altered except by two 
thirds of all the members present at a meeting called for that 
purpose. 



ANOTHER FORM ADOPTED BY A MEHODIST EPIS- 
COPAL SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

Art. I. — Name and Object. 

This School shall be called the Methodist Episcopal Sunday- 
School. Its object shall be to encourage the careful study of 
God's word, and promote true piety, especially among the 
children and youth of the Church and congregation. 

Art. II. — Members. 

The School shall consist, 

1. Of the Officers : — Superintendent, Assistant Superin- 
tendent, Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian, Assistant Librarian, 
and Chorister, who shall be nominated and elected by ballot 
at the Annual Teachers' Meeting. 



The Country Sunday-School. 45 

2. Of the Teachers : — "Who shall be nominated by a 
" Teachers' Committee," consisting of the Superintendent, As- 
sistant Superintendent, and Pastor, and elected at any regular 
Teachers' Meeting. 

3. Of the Scholars : — "Who shall be elected by the Teach- 
ers at any regular meeting, their names registered on the rec- 
ord book, and a certificate of membership given them, signed 
by the Superintendent and Secretary. 

4. Of Life Members : — Who shall be constituted such by 
paying into the treasury of the School, at any one time, the 
sum of three dollars. 

Art. HI. — Duties of Members. 

1. The Superintendent shall have general supervision of the 
School, and preside at all Teachers' Meetings. It is his duty 
to arrange classes, make transfers from one class to another, 
and maintain a vigorous administration of every part of the 
School. 

All these duties shall devolve upon the Assistant when the 
Principal is absent ; and it shall further be his duty to furnish 
such aid to the Superintendent as may be required of him from 
time to time. 

2. The Secretary shall be required to keep carefully and in 
good order the register of the School, minute and record all 
its transactions, conduct its correspondence, furnish the Pastor, 
quarterly, with the statistics of the School according to the 
form published by the Methodist Episcopal Sunday-School 
Union, and discharge all other duties appropriate to his office. 

3. The Treasurer shall receive all moneys collected in and 
belonging to the School, keep an account of the same, and pay 
them out by a vote of the Teachers, and report on the state of 
the Treasury at the first meeting of each month and at the An- 
nual Meeting. 

4. The Librarian shall attend to all matters relating to the 
Library, subject to such regulations as the Teachers may adopt, 

5. The Teachers shall always be present at School in time or 
procure a substitute ; set an example of order and propriety, 



46 The Country Sunday-School. 

and require the same of their several classes-; make all required 
reports ; study the lessons of the School thoroughly ; visit the 
scholars at their homes, and labor prayerfully and perseveringly 
for their conversion. 

6. The Scholars are expected to be punctual and regular in 
attendance, studious, quiet, and teachable during the school 
exercises. 

Art. IV. — Meetings. 

The School shall meet every Sabbath day at and close 

at or before . The Teachers' Weekly Meeting shall be 

held on Wednesday evening of each week, and the Annual 
Meeting on the third Saturday evening of October. All other 
meetings shall be subject to the call of the Superintendent or 
five of the Teachers. Seven members shall constitute a quorum. 

Art. V. — Study. 

During the time devoted by the programme of School exer- 
cises to the study of the Scriptures, every class will be expect- 
ed to engage in such study without intermission, except as 
required in the exchange of books. 

Art. VI. — Mission Committee. 

At the Annual Teachers' Meeting a Committee of three on 
Missions shall be elected by ballot, whose duty it shall be to 
superintend the missionary operations of the School ; the plans 
adopted by them subject to the action of any regular Teachers' 
Meeting. 

Art. VII. — Vacancies. 

Vacancies in the offices may be filled at any regular or special 
meeting, one month's notice having been given of the election. 

Art. VIH. — Alterations. 

This Constitution shall not be altered except by two thirds of 
all the officers and teachers belonging to the School, at a meet- 
ing called for that purpose. 



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